


these ghosts that haunt you

by partiallight



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29850645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/partiallight/pseuds/partiallight
Summary: Four years after leaving, Kujo Tenn has to return to his childhood home to exorcise whatever is troubling his younger brother. The fact that his brother is more attuned to the paranormal than most people makes the situation quite the experience, and maybe Tenn will have to face his demons for once, too.
Relationships: Kujou Ten & Nanase Riku
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	these ghosts that haunt you

Paranormal activity at the Nanase household was never in any way unusual to Tenn. The same way other people had bug infestations, they had spirits roaming all over the place.

Tenn can’t see them.

Apparently, that makes Tenn the weird one, because everyone else in the family can, to some degree. That degree is incredibly high with Riku, who can actually touch them. In return, Riku’s physical health is completely in shambles.

(Behind closed doors, Tenn overheard his parents say, ‘It’s because they’re twins. One of them was born closer to the other side.’ He pretended to not hear.)

It could have been okay.

It _was_ okay.

It was okay until Tenn found Riku at the bottom of a well, badly injured, and the only explanation he offered was ‘they said they’d catch me, Tenn-nii’.

It stopped being okay then.

* * *

Tenn’s rescue turned out to be one very bitter man named Kujo Takamasa.

In normal situations, Tenn would not trust strangers, especially not ones telling him to become an exorcist of some sort.

But this is different. This is for Riku, and for Riku, Tenn would even make a deal with the devil.

Riku will be sad, Tenn is sure, but the less unsavoury spirits will keep him company while Tenn is gone.

And when he returns, he’ll make sure that no one can harm Riku.

Until then, Kujo promised to have someone keep watch over the paranormal activity at the Nanase household.

That’s the right thing to do for Riku… right?

* * *

Four years later, Tenn is standing in front of his childhood home. It’s swarming with spirits, at least some with malicious intent, as if a source of energy was in there, waiting to be feasted upon.

He can see them now, even if it’s a little blurry.

(The training and the surgery weren’t easy, but his retinas recovered by now. He’s prepared.)

Something feels wrong about this. Everything feels wrong about this. He pushes past the instinct to run, and opens the door.

What he sees is concerning.

“Tenn-nii, wait up!” Riku dashes past him, after a spirit that looks suspiciously like him.

“Riku—”

“Eh, Tenn-nii, we have visitors?” Riku stops in his tracks and turns to face Tenn. “Hello, Tenn-nii!! Did you want to play, too?”

“I’m—”

“Don’t be shy, the others will be fine with another Tenn-nii here.” Riku pulls Tenn by the sleeve of his jacket.

This is very surreal. Too surreal. Also…

_ ' _ _Another Tenn-nii_ _’_?

Tenn follows Riku to their childhood bedroom, filled with spirits that resemble Tenn in different life stages. A toddler, a young child, a teenager, even an adult version that Tenn has yet to become himself.

“Riku, you realize that these people aren’t—”

“...We’ve been over this, Tenn-nii. We don’t talk about the real Tenn-nii. He isn’t coming back, but everyone’s been so nice to me, so don’t ruin it!” Riku pouts.

Looking at him more closely now, Tenn can tell that he’s grown a lot. He’s the same height as Tenn again, unlike the much younger and smaller Riku from his memory.

“Then, what does everybody here really look like?”

As soon as Tenn asks, Riku sighs and vaguely nods in the direction of the Tenn-lookalikes, who immediately morph into spirits that Tenn can recognize from Riku’s description of them when he was a kid. "Explaining this to newcomers is always a lot..."

Tenn's eyes widen. “It’s you guys…?”

The spirits immediately turn back to pretending to be Tenn, expressions of surprise on their faces now.

“You remember us, huh? And you can see us now?” The toddler-Tenn asks.

“Yeah, I… I made it work.”

“What are you saying, Tenn-nii?” Riku laughs. “All the Tenn-niis here can see each other, right?”

“Riku…” Tenn suddenly feels a sinking feeling deep inside. “Wait. Where are your parents?”

“Tenn-nii. That topic is…” Riku looks away, breaking eye contact before turning to one of the spirits. “Can one of you guys fill him in on how things work here?” He coughs. “And my inhaler is empty again…” 

There is no doubt their parents are no longer here, Tenn now knows. If they were, they’d have made sure that Riku has his medicine. 

To his own luck, he came prepared. He bought an inhaler thinking his parents might appreciate the financial support.

He pulls out the inhaler and hands it to Riku. “Will that do it?”

“Thanks, Tenn-nii! I knew I could count on— Wait.” Riku’s eyes widen. “How can you… touch that?”

Tenn steels himself for what’s about to come. “Because I’m not a spirit. I’m right here.” He touches Riku’s hand, hoping the warmth will provide further proof.

“But you left four years ago! You responded to none of our calls! Mom and dad said you might have died trying to hunt spirits! And then they went and…” Riku is tearing up.

“They went and did what?” Tenn resists the urge to hug Riku. (He does not deserve it.)

Resists the urge to give in to his soul-crushing guilt.

“They went and died. Last year. In an accident. They were on the way to visit Tenn-nii at… At Kujo’s…”

Something inside Tenn shatters. This is his fault. His fault for being born Riku’s twin, his fault for leaving and not having the guts to call his family in four years.

This is his fault, and he’ll have to deal with the consequences.

“Then, you’ve been here ever since…?”

Riku nods, more tears falling from his face as he does.

The weak part of Tenn wants to comfort Riku now. Let him know he's there, hug him. But Tenn doesn't deserve that.

He should do his job.

Tenn stares at the Tenn-lookalikes in the room. “You guys don’t seem to be what I got called here for.”

“You’re looking for the basement,” the adult Tenn-lookalike provides. “But don’t take Riku there.”

Tenn nods and turns to the door, but he’s stopped by warm arms wrapping around him.

“Please, don’t go without me, Tenn-nii…”

“Riku… You heard him. Whatever is down there isn’t good for you, right?”

“I want you to tell that person that he’s wrong.”   


“That person... who?”

“Tenn-nii.”

_ Damn it. _

Tenn knows what’s haunting Riku now, and maybe it’s Tenn who shouldn’t be going there. But he is Kujo Tenn. This is his job, and he will do it.

Tenn’s hand finds its way to Riku’s. “Let’s go, then.”

* * *

The stairs down to the basement are lined with paper talismans, all with Riku’s clumsy handwriting on them. And Riku gets quieter and slower the further down they go.

“Hey, Riku. Who actually called the exorcists here, if it wasn’t you?”

“Someone called Tenn-nii here?” Riku tilts his head. “...One of my friends possessed me then, probably. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Tenn blinks. “Wouldn’t be the first time?”

“When you first left, I didn’t eat. That’s when after almost a week, someone possessed me just so I would eat. And after that, they kept doing it. I get mad every time, but I realize they’re doing it for my sake…”

Riku has always been that way, not taking care of himself well enough. Tenn supposes that sort of mentality won’t change, especially not with what he went through. 

The door has talismans all over it, looking as if it was messily done in a hurry. The floor is covered in salt, and Tenn is almost certain that Riku just emptied a bucket of it on the floor.

“I should renew those talismans, huh…” Riku seems very uncomfortable and grasps Tenn’s sleeve. “Tenn-nii. You’re real, right?”

“Of course I am.” Tenn feels pained having to answer this question, but that’s his own fault.

“Will you stay from now on?”

“I have work to do.”

“And when you’re off work?”

Tenn thinks about his responsibility to Kujo, thinks about how Kujo didn’t keep his side of the agreement by not keeping the paranormal activity at the Nanase household in check properly. Thinks about how surely, Kujo would’ve known about their parents, too. Decides that he shouldn't have to keep his end of the bargain if Kujo doesn't keep his, either.

“I’ll come visit.”   


Riku lets out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad.”

Tenn takes a deep breath and opens the door… to meet the result of his actions.

“Oh, Riku? You’ve come to visit?” Tenn hears his own laugh from the spirit sitting in that room. “I thought you’d never come, weak as you are.”

Tenn understands now. If he had been by Riku’s side, none of this would have happened. This spirit would never have had this sort of power over Riku.

“He’s not weak,” Tenn says, louder than he intended to. “He doesn’t need to hide behind someone else’s face.”

“You’re back?” The spirit morphs into Riku. “After you left me alone for years?”

Tenn feels the pain, but he sees the real Riku right beside him. This is what should count, and h e chooses to focus on that.

“You can’t get me with his face. The real Riku is right here.”

“But would he forgive you? I know I wouldn’t. Then again…” The spirit morphs back into Tenn. “That idiot is gullible, so maybe you’re lucky.”

Tenn can feel Riku’s hand tremble inside his. “Riku. Don’t listen to him.”

“But he’s…”

“A liar. I might be…” Tenn bites his lip, but forces himself to keep going. “I might have made bad decisions trying to help you, and I don’t regret trying to help you, but… I would never think badly of you.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. After all, I had to bear Tenn-nii’s burden, since I was always the deficient twin, right?” The spirit is wearing Riku’s face again, and Tenn is so close to just punching it in.

“That’s right,” Tenn mutters. “I always had it easy because Riku was the one suffering. That’s not what matters here though. What matters is…”

He tries to remember the embarrassing words his fellow exorcist, Yaotome Gaku, once drunkenly told him are good for when you're trying to express your love for someone.

“What matters is?” The spirit laughs.

“What matters is that I…”

“That you?” This time it’s Riku asking.

Quietly, Tenn mutters, “That I love Riku.”

“Uhm?” The sounds of surprise came from both Riku and the spirit in unison.

Tenn wants to think about all the ways he’ll have to hide in a closet after this, but instead he pulls out his gun. “This is the end of the line for you.”

The spirit laughs, even as Tenn holds the gun against his forehead. “Can you shoot your own brother, _Tenn-nii_?”

“No, but you’re not my brother. And you will leave him alone from now on.” Tenn pulls the trigger.

* * *

“Wake up, Tenn-nii!” An unfamiliar voice wakes Tenn up.

“They’re right, Tenn-nii, it’s morning!” Riku shakes Tenn a little. 

“Tell them to stop calling me Tenn-nii then.” Tenn opens one eye to see Riku leaning over him and several spirits hovering over him.

“We’ve called you that for years, we can’t just stop now. You can be glad we stopped looking like you!”

Tenn sighs and rolls over. “I guess I’ll take it. I have to go to work soon. Can one of you guys help Riku with breakfast?”

“Hey, I can make the omurice by myself by now.” Riku pouts a little. “They showed me often enough.”

The day on which Tenn returned home was only a week ago, but it feels like yesterday.

Maybe all he had to do was be with Riku.

Maybe what he did was right, because now he can see the world Riku sees.

Tenn doesn’t know, and Tenn doesn’t care. Because things are fine now, and they will continue to be.

Riku squeezes Tenn's hand. “Hey, Tenn-nii.”

“Yeah?”

“Say that thing you said back then again.”

“Again?”

“Again.” Riku stares at him.

“I…” Tenn looks away. “I love you.”

Riku smiles at him.

“I love you too, Tenn-nii!”

**Author's Note:**

> the talismans in question are ofuda obviously, but i dont like putting TL notes in my fic


End file.
